We Need to Listen to These Celebrities Opening Up About Depression

In the middle of the ongoing discussion about mental health, Nadine Lustre opened up about her own struggles with depression. "It may come as a surprise to you but I have struggled with depression way back and still am to this day," she writes on Instagram. "I have days where I'm just sitting in the tub, asking myself a lot of questions, confused...I felt like I was just looking in someone else's life through a window."

As to why she began going down that road, she points to feeling inadequate. "Feeling bad [because] I am not enough and everything that I do and will do will never be enough. Its not easy."

At the end of the post, the actress sends encouragement to everyone on the same boat. "Before you do something you will regret, think about all the great things that you can do in the future, people you will meet and places you travel to, the lives you will touch," she says. She also shared that she, too, had suicidal thoughts in the past. "I almost did it before and Im so thankful that I didn't do it, because If I did, I wouldn't be living the life that I have now."

Last October 10, the actress posted the hashtag #KeepGoing and a semi-colon in her Instagram stories. It was her way of raising awareness about mental illness for World Mental Health Day. Fellow celebrities and friends of the new It's Showtime host followed suit to support the cause.

Coincidentally, rumors of a death in Nadine's family were in the midst of spreading on the same day. Yesterday, the actress confirmed the news with another Instagram post.

The conversation on mental health grew exponentially in the country ever since Eat Bulaga host Joey de Leon made harmful comments about depression on air. Addressing a segment winner, he claimed that the illness wasn't real, and those who claim to have it are making it up. His fellow host Maine Mendoza immediately refuted his statements in the show, with co-host Alden Richards agreeing with her verbally.

A day later, two of the noontime show's hosts reacted to the incident. Ryan Agoncillo talked about the stigma around depression, while Alden tweeted about his late mother's struggle with the mental illness. Joey later apologized for his previous remarks on air.

With even celebrities joining the discussion about mental health, it's high time for you to jump in, too. Listen, speak up, and express support for those who need it, no matter the size of your platform. These public figures are proof that depression is real and is nothing to be ashamed of. You can also take this quick diagnostic test to find out if you're suffering from depression yourself.